The Aftermath
by AcousticsHarmony
Summary: Perhaps future Lucy's death had affected him more than they thought, after all. Natsu was not himself, and Lucy noticed. *Ratings will go up if you guys want more chapters, or just to keep it as it is!* Please read and enjoy :3


The Aftermath

 **Hai :3 After reading a LOT of fanfictions over the years, and honing my own writing skills, I've decided to take a shot at writing my own fanfiction!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy it! Remember, pleeeeease review! :3**

SUMMARY: Perhaps future Lucy's death had affected him more than they thought, after all. Natsu was not himself, and Lucy _noticed_.

"Haaah~" The blonde celestial mage perched her head on the edge of the bar. Her long arms hung down beside her as she stared at the wall in _utter boredom_. She pulled herself up and crossed arms in front of her, leaning over once again and resting her head on top of them. "There hasn't been a single job request for _three weeks_ …" She groused. "I just need _something…_ "

Mira smiled loosely and picked up another mug. "Everyone is still recovering from what happened," She sighed and placed the mug down. "Physically and emotionally."

"Oh…"

Mira tilted her head to one side. "I would have thought you were more affected than anybody here, Lucy. After all, you—"

"-I know…" Lucy sighed and lowered her head. "As bad as it sounds, I've blocked it from my mind." She sat up and picked at her fingers. "I couldn't _stop_ thinking about it before." The blonde sighed and stretched her arms up, standing from her school. She looked around and scanned the room for a familiar tuft of pink spiky hair. "Hey, Mira? Have you seen Natsu?"

Mira shook her head. "I've barely seen him over the last three weeks."

"Hmm…" Lucy scanned the room once again. She spotted the light blue of Happy's fur, and quickly jogged towards him. "Happy? Have _you_ seen Natsu at all?"

Happy nodded and nibbled on his fish. His ears lowered, however, and he sniffled quietly. "Aye, he hasn't been very talkative," He jumped up and placed his fish down. "He spends most of his time on your apartment roof—" He slapped his paws over his mouth. "Uh…"

"My _apartment roof_?" Lucy seethed and grabbed the neko by his tail and held him in front of his face. " _Why_?"

Happy burst into animated tears and clawed the air, squirming for dear life. "I don't know!" He squeaked and swung from side to side. "He doesn't tell me why! Lemme g-" He was dropped; face first back onto the table. "Lucy's meeean…"

Mira smiled sadly and continued to wash a mug, watching as the blonde flew out of the guild and onto the streets of Magnolia. "If anybody can get Natsu to talk, it's you, Lucy…"

The blonde panted and slowed her sprinting pace, placing her hands on her knees and bending by the waist. "Haah…" She huffed and stood up to her full height. Immediately, however, her eyes become interlocked with a pair of deep onyx ones. "KYAA~" She squeaked and fell back onto her behind. She blinked and looked back up at the scarf wearer. "N-Natsu…"

For a moment, his eyes appeared glazed over. The white around the onyx seemed blood shot, and— _were those bags under his eyes?_ In her small reverie, she didn't seem to notice a calloused hand reaching towards her. "Oh…" She snapped out of her reverie and took his hand, wobbling to a stand. "T-Thank you…"

"S'ok," His voiced seemed gruff and much lower than it normally was. His eyes traced over her being slowly. "Why were you runnin' back home, weirdo?" He tensed suddenly and quickly looked around, narrowing his eyes. "Was somebody chasin' you?" He growled.

"N-No, nothing like that!" She visibly watched him relax, and fists become unclenched. "Actually, I-I was looking for _you_."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Me?"

Lucy nodded. She hitched herself on her tiptoes and attempted to mirror his height, and leaned closer to the boy, her eyes narrowed. "Happy let it slip that _you_ have been spending most of your time on my apartment roof," She watched as a small, but noticeable, blush spread its way across his cheeks— _wait, why is he blushing? Whaaat?_ "Is that true?"

Natsu, instead of protesting as she expected, crossed his arms tightly and turned his head to the side. "Y-Yeah? So what? It's just a roof, Luce, and if you have a problem with it, then—"

" _Why_?"

His ramblings came to an abrupt stop, and he finally met her eye. "W-Why?"

Lucy nodded and tilted her head to the side. "It's not just that, Natsu," She sighed and lowered herself back down to her own height. "You've barely said a word to me or Happy over the last three weeks. Above that, even if you're in the same _room_ as any of us, you avoid _looking_ at us _completely_!" She huffed and crossed her arms. "And-"

"I don't wanna talk about it, Luce."

His abrupt interruption and short tone had Lucy's fists clenching. "If you just _talk_ to me, maybe I can help you? Mira made a point that everybody is still physically and emotionally recovering, is it—?"

"I said," Natsu growled and turned away. "I don't _wanna talk about it_." And with that, he jumped up onto a nearby building, a disappeared from sight.

Lucy bunched her fists tighter and glowered at the building. " _JERK FACE_!" She whirled around and made her way back to her apartment, mumbling a different variety of obscenities. _Why did he have bags under his eyes…?_ The blonde's storming feet came to an eventual stop. She sighed, and her eyes softened. She turned around and held her hand to her chest. "Natsu…"

" _The living will live. The dead will die. The person who closes the portal is going to close the portal. No matter what happens, as long as they're alive."_

" _I don't really follow you," Natsu stated, a bored and confused tone entering his voice. "But who is the person that interferes?"_

 _A long silence followed after the question. Rouge's eyes remained closed. Until, suddenly, they snapped wide open, and focused on his target._

" _You…" He growled. "Lucy Heartphilia!" His hand erupted into a thick black mist, and suddenly, a sword shape formed. In her numb shock, Lucy stood glued to her spot, and watched as the sword flew faster and faster towards her._

 _She caught Natsu's eyes._

 _His eyes were two tiny dots that had shrivelled in anger and desperation. He, from what she could see, reached an arm out to prevent the sword from hitting, but his attempts of stopping the attack failed, as his hand fell through the black mist._

" _Lucy!"_

The blonde gasped and shook her head. Try as she might, she could never block that memory from her mind.

And apparently, neither could Natsu.

She sighed. Every day she thanked her future self for blocking Rouge's attack.

"Natsu…" She murmured once again, and looked towards the buildings for any sign of the pink haired boy. "I'm sorry." She turned away and headed into her apartment, closing the door behind her.

In the middle of the night, a figure lay twisted in bed sheets. A male grunt and groan filled the small room, followed by a whimper. "Natsu…" Happy, who was woken by the sounds coming from the pink haired man, rubbed his eyes and poked Natsu's face. "Natsu, wake up, you're having a nightmare."

Natsu shot up from his tangled sheets and scanned the room. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temple harshly. "Sorry, Happy…" He groaned. His voice was rough with struggled sleep. "Damn it…"

Happy had already curled himself around his pillow, and fallen asleep. Natsu envied the neko.

The pyro wobbled to a stand and ran his fingers through his tangled hair. It appeared it would be another sleepless night. He sighed and reached for his scarf. He stepped over the clutter on his floor, and opened the door as carefully as he could. He closed it behind him, and shoved his hands deep in his pocket. "Nightmares suck…" He grumbled, and headed towards the street.

" _You've barely said a word to me or Happy over the last three weeks."_

Lucy's voice bounced around his mind. He groaned and kicked a stone angrily.

" _Above that, even if you're in the same room as any of us, you avoid looking at us completely!"_

He grit his teeth.

" _If you just talk to me, maybe I can help you? Mira made a point that everybody is still physically and emotionally recovering, is it—?"_

He regretted cutting her off the way he did. She was trying to understand, and he was acted like a total jerk.

" _Everybody is still physically and emotionally recovering,"_

Physically? His injuries and bruises were a thing of the past. He retrieved a few scars, but as the ice freak said, scars are sexy. Or something.

But emotionally? He accepted that he was a wreck inside. He hadn't slept for three weeks, and it was beginning to show. He had vivid and brutal nightmares of Lucy—

 _No_. He shook his head. _Shut up, Natsu._

His irrational, sleep deprived mind begun to taunt him. "Lucy is fine…" He muttered. "She's in her apartment, she—"

His eyes widened. What if she didn't make it to her apartment? What if someone came up behind her and stole her keys, and-and—

Natsu whirled around. In a flurry of desperation, he jumped over buildings, people, and right over the river. He quickly attached himself to Lucy's window ledge, and gazed through the window.

 _She was there. She was fine. She was asleep._

Natsu sighed and rested his head against the glass, squeezing his eyes shut. He curled his fingers under the gap of the slightly open window, and pulled it open as quietly as he could. He sighed and stepped in, closing it behind him. Looking down, he pulled back the covers as gently as he could, and wriggled himself inside.

Lucy moaned and shuffled herself closer to the source of warmth Natsu was providing. Her sleeping form turned her back to the boy. The pyro blinked. Carefully, afraid that she may wake up, he wrapped his arms around her waist and carefully pulled her closer. He breathed in her soothing scent of vanilla and strawberry's, and gradually, a genuine smile spread across his features. His eyes dropped until he, also, fell asleep.

For the first time in three weeks, he felt… _content._

 **;oo Guyyyys, how was that?! :D ;o Pleeeaaseee review and tell meeee, and tell me if I should keep it as a one shot or add more chapters? :D If you want, gimme ideas, too!**

 **AcousticsHarmony~**


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